Jetstar grounds trans-Tasman flights just weeks after launch
JETSTAR appears to have scrapped trans-Tasman flights less than amonth after starting them for a one-wayNew ZealandAustralia travel bubble.
Its parent company Qantas has also scaled back its transTasman schedule to just two flights aweek, citing low demand because of border restrictions and the need for to quarantine on return.
On October 16, a one-way travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia opened allowing quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia. Qantas introduced six SydneyAuckland flights and four Sydney-Christchurch flights a week, and Jetstar launched three Sydney-Auckland flights. But just as the bubble was set to open Qantas cancelled the Christchurch service, and reduced its Sydney to Auckland flights to four per week.
It now has two AucklandSydney flights aweek.
Jetstar appears to have stopped flying the trans-Tasman, with its website showing no Auckland-Sydney tickets until
February 1 and Auckland Airport’s website showing no international departures or arrivals for Jetstar. The airline did not answer questions from Stuff on Friday.
An update posted to Jetstar’s travel alerts on Friday night said it was operating three flights a week between Auckland and Sydney but goes on to say there had been cancellations between New Zealand and Australia for flights scheduled between October 16 and November 30.
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand’s Australia regional general manager Kathryn Robertson said the national carrier wasworking to the assumption that a two-way trans-Tasman bubble would be open early next year.